Jessica Campbell, ‘Election’ and ‘Freaks and Geeks’ star, dies at 38



[ad_1]

Jessica Campbell, who played Tammy Metzler in Election, died at the age of 38.

Campbell’s family confirmed the news to TMZ, stating that Campbell passed away on December 29, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. Campbell, who quit her job to become a naturopathic doctor, has spent the day seeing patients in her practice, her cousin Sarah Wessling said on the way out. She returned home to visit her mother and aunt, used the bathroom and never returned.

Her aunt later found her collapsed on the bathroom floor; Campbell could not be revived when paramedics arrived. Her family is awaiting the results of the autopsy, which was conducted by the Multnomah County medical examiner in Oregon.

Campbell was born on October 30, 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She first appeared in the 1992 TV movie In the best interests of the children with Sarah Jessica Parker. In 1999 she starred in her best-known role as Metzler in Election. The film was directed by Alexander Payne and starred Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon. Campbell played the distraught sister of Chris Klein whose girlfriend dumps her and leaves her for the character of Klein. Seeking revenge, she runs against him for the class presidency.

In a movie that had stars like Broderick and Witherspoon, Campbell stands out despite being relatively unknown. She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Performance.

“Jessica was the last of the four tracks chosen for Election», Says Payne Rolling stone. “I think she had only done a bit of acting in high school and unprofessional in Saint Louis, and her local agent sent to Omaha – where we were filming – a VHS tape with Jessica’s perfect hearing. She even had braces. We only met the day before his first day of shooting, so we didn’t have time to rehearse this non-professional actor; she just had to start working right in front of the camera. His instinct for the character was always perfect and his discipline was exemplary. If ever she was nervous, she never showed it. Her mother was also with us, an ER doctor, and Jessica later became a doctor as well. Jessica continued to play a lot too, but it never occurred to her.

“Of the four main protagonists of Election, her character was the grounded truth-teller – and there was little difference between the character and Jessica herself, ”Payne added. “She was very smart, very grounded, very funny and kind, and you could see those qualities in her mother as well. Really good people. I can’t tell you how sad this recent and unusual news made me, because I’m sure it touches everyone who knew her.

Campbell also starred in Freaks and Geeks, The pop-up cult television series by Paul Feig, produced by Judd Apatow. Campbell played the role of Amy Andrews, a tuba player in the McKinley High Marching Band. She begins dating Ken (Seth Rogen), later revealing to him that she was born intersex.

“Jessica’s work on Freaks and Geeks was so sincere, vulnerable and really kind and funny, ”says Apatow Rolling stone. “We all knew we were working with a very special person. Several of the key scenes were improvised with Seth Rogen, and they were magical together. She created a character with strength and grace.

Campbell then performed in the 2001s Object security against Glenn Close and Dermot Mulroney, followed by 2002 Waste.

Wessling opened a GoFundMe account, raising money for funeral expenses – cremation, memorial and probate – as well as taking care of Campbell’s 10-year-old son Oliver. Apatow donated $ 5,000 to the fundraiser.

“A true adventurer in every sense of the word, Jessica has packed an incredible amount of experiences into her tragically short life,” Wessling wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Listening to her speech, enthusiastically telling her stories a mile a minute, one could be forgiven for thinking ‘is that bitch real?’ But she was actually for real and there was no one else like her. Travel the world, play, become a doctor, be the mom of the coolest kid ever; those bucket list items woven into the daily fabric of her reality. His passion for life and the people there was incredible.

“In addition to the impressive energy she has invested in her own life, Jessica, on several occasions, has given up everything to cross state borders and take care of her loved ones in need,” he said. she continued. “She was fun, she was loud, she was compassionate and loyal; no matter what she did, she was still uniquely Jessica. Our phone chat is full of inappropriate hilarious memes. She could always be counted on as the instigator, or at least as a willing accomplice, of various forms of mischief and pretense. To know her is to have an exaggerated history involving her. To know her is to have known a true friendship.



[ad_2]

Source link